SHARPSVILLE Water plant report is due

Remodel, replace or sell are the three options.
SHARPSVILLE, Pa. --The public will get a chance to hear a report on the future of the municipal water plant at the same time the document is presented to borough council.
Council has scheduled a special meeting for 7 p.m. Nov. 5 in Sharpsville High School Auditorium for the unveiling of the report by Resource Development Management Inc. of Pittsburgh.
Borough Manager Michael Wilson said council hasn't seen the report and will get its first look at the document at the special meeting. Council hired RDM in August to do the study for $9,700.
The company was to look at a variety of options, including remodeling schemes of $600,000 and $1.8 million, replacing the plant for between $3.2 million and $3.5 million and selling the plant to Consumers Pennsylvania Water Co. for $5.124 million.
Rates would rise
Water rates would increase under any of the scenarios, including the sale of the plant, officials have said.
Residents pay an average of $23 a month, and that would rise to about $37 a month for a new plant or about $33 for a substantial rebuilding of the 50-year-old facility.
The average residential Consumers customer pays $35 a month, and should the plant be sold to that company, Sharpsville rates would rise gradually over a five-year period to match those paid by other Consumer customers.
Council decided it would be best to have a professional consulting firm examine the options and come up with some recommendations before making a decision.
Council has been debating the future of the plant for years but has traditionally been reluctant to consider the sale of the facility.
No decision is expected at the special meeting, borough officials said. It's being held only to hear the study results.